MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian court on Monday outlawed a radical online group that has become infamous for its racist and sexist views.
The regional court in Nizhny Novgorod banned the the Muzhskoye Gosudarstvo (Male State) group as extremist. Its members will face criminal charges if they continue their activities.
The online group created by Vladislav Pozdnyakov several years ago has become notorious for its racist, misogynist and anti-LGBT rhetoric and its bullying of feminists and LGBT activists. Pozdnyakov left Russia after being handed a two-year suspended sentence in 2018 on charges of extremism. His current whereabouts are unknown.
The Russian social network VKontakte blocked the group last year.
The Russian Interior Ministry has described the group as promoting a “radical patriarchate” and striving to challenge the country’s constitutional order.
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